New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is conscious of Chinese presence in elements of Ladakh and is alert to intrusions by Chinese navy helicopters, together with within the Galwan area of northeast Ladakh the place Indian and Chinese troopers are concerned in a faceoff.
“(Chinese) helicopter activity has seen a spurt,” stated the Chief of Air Team, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria in an interview to PalavaNews. “Whenever there is activity, as per our standard operating procedures, we deploy aircraft to monitor. That was done. There was nothing there that we are not aware of,” he stated.
At the identical time, the IAF has not detected any large-scale or untoward motion of Chinese fighter plane within the Tibet area the place Beijing has considerably constructed up its navy infrastructure within the final decade.
Last month, Indian and Chinese troopers engaged in certainly one of their most hostile clashes with troopers clashing in hand-to-hand preventing in North Sikkim and alongside the east financial institution of Pangong lake in Ladakh. There are experiences of accidents on either side.
The scenario to the north of Pangong, alongside the Galwan river basin, is a significant reason for concern for navy planners in New Delhi. Chinese and Indian troopers are concerned in a faceoff on this area with either side dashing further forces there.
On Tuesday, the Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese authorities, stated Chinese border troops have bolstered their defences within the Galwan Valley area in north Ladakh “and made necessary moves in response to India’s recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region”. The article refers back to the scenario as “the strongest military response to India’s illegal trespassing incident along the border since the Doklam standoff.”
In 2017, Indian and Chinese troopers had been locked of their greatest face-off because the 1962 warfare when Indian Army prevented Chinese staff from establishing a street in Doklam, a contested a part of Bhutan, east of Sikkim. Both sides de-escalated tensions after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met within the Wuhan summit in April 2018.
Neither the Army nor the Foreign Ministry have responded to requests for touch upon the claims made within the Global Times report.
On May 15, Army Chief General MM Naravane had tried to minimize variations between India and China. “It is only at one or two places where this has happened. And this does happen from time to time. It also happens when there is a change of commanders on ground,” he stated.